Delivering the Convocation Address at Sai University’s Third Convocation in Chennai, he told young graduates that they are beginning a new adventure and journey which will be very different.
“Some will go into a business world. Some will become entrepreneurs, some will go for higher academics or anything else that may be of interest. For the first time you will start to feel what is called pressure,” Chandrasekaran said.
He cited an example of how tennis player Lindsay Davenport sought advice from legend Billie Jean King before the 2000 Fed Cup final against an opponent she had never beaten. King had told Davenport that she had earned the right to feel the pressure by reaching the final. Davenport went on to win.
Similarly, Chandrasekaran told the graduating students that they have earned the right to feel the pressure. “People expect you to be brilliant in whatever you do.”
He also told students how to live with this pressure and quoted marathon runner Juma Ikangaa: “The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.”
“It is always the willingness to put in the effort to prepare is what is important. This applies in sports, this applies in life,” Chandrasekaran said.
“Every situation and disappointment you will learn from the set back more importantly you will learn to put in more effort. Fear of failure will always stop you from progress. Every failure is a step forward and every success is a step confidence forward,” he said.
Chandrasekaran also drew from his own experiences of taking up running nearly 18 years ago.
He urged graduates to adopt a mindset of “running dual races”, working towards long-term goals while also pursuing shorter-term achievements to maintain momentum.
Citing marathon running, Chandrasekaran said individuals should measure themselves against their own progress rather than comparing themselves with others: “You have got to measure yourself on progress, continuous improvement, push yourself towards what you want to do.”
“The willingness to prepare, and willingness to make progress every day, and running your own race, will help you handle the pressure,” he said.
Chandrasekaran said India was entering a period of economic growth that could be “unparalleled in our own history and unparalleled with any part of the world,” even as artificial intelligence, technology and regulatory change reshape the global economy, adding that this growth could continue for several decades.
“You are stepping into a world which has a very changing global economic, technological, disruptive, AI led revolutionary, regulatory and other changes that are constantly evolving,” he told graduates.
While acknowledging growing discussion around job losses due to AI, Chandrasekaran said the technology was also opening up new areas of opportunity.
“The world is full to the brim with possibilities,” he said, adding that “five years from now there will be industries which don’t exist today,” for which the terminology itself does not yet exist.
Chandrasekaran listed six qualities he considered essential for graduates navigating a changing economy: continuous learning, curiosity, collective work, creativity, self-reflection and setting ambitious goals.
“Keep learning. If you are not keeping pace you will get outdated,” he said, stressing that learning would remain a lifelong habit even after formal education ends.
Chandrasekaran also encouraged graduates to work with people who hold different skills and to develop creativity, noting that “creativity in business is premium.”
Concluding his address, he urged graduates to aim high, think big, and be bold and audacious as they begin their professional journeys.
Degrees were conferred on 72 graduating students at the ceremony.
Founder and Chancellor K. V. Ramani in his address, spoke about the shortage of quality higher education institutions in India and outlined Sai University’s founding purpose in addressing that gap, reiterating the University’s commitment to combining global academic standards with an Indian ethos.